“Ambush marketing” was tried by “vested interests,” says KKR’s formal statement about LSG being accused of not letting fans in.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) put out a statement after fans said they were turned away from the match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on May 20. For those who don’t know, the Lucknow-based team wore maroon and green against KKR as a respect to Mohun Bagan, an Indian football club with a long history.

But before the game, the KKR managers turned away some fans who were wearing KKR gear. But KKR has made a public statement about this and said they were worried about “ambush marketing by vested interests.”
“There are some false rumors going around that KKR management stopped some fans from getting into Eden Gardens on May 20 for the game between KKR and LSG. The statement said, “For the record, KKR management has nothing to do with how the crowd is managed at the stadium.”

“We were told that some people with a special interest tried to do ambush marketing, but that the IPL Anti-Ambush Marketing Team quickly put a stop to it. KKR is thankful for how well it gets along with its fans in Kolkata and for how full Eden Gardens is for every game. It has one of the biggest fan groups of any franchise, and it would never hurt anyone’s feelings, the statement said.

Mohun Bagan’s General Secretary was rude to the National Club of India.
Before KKR made an official comment, Mohun Bagan’s general secretary, Debashish Dutta, was very clear about what he thought about the situation.

“It was a special match for Mohun Bagan fans because LSG was wearing a new green and maroon jersey,” Debashish Dutta said in a press release. “However, the KKR management limited the freedom of the Mohun Bagan fans (who are also fans of KKR and LSG) by not letting them into the stadium because they were wearing Mohun Bagan jerseys.”

“Mohun Bagan Athletic Club strongly condemns this move by KKR management for disrespecting the National Club of India and hurting the feelings of our fans. It is a person’s right to support and wear the jersey of the team he or she loves and supports. “No one has the right to get in the way of someone else’s choice,” he said.